Moller-strobel



31, 1956 J. MULLER-STROBEL 2,732,741

CLOSURE REMOVER WITH PLUNGER ACTUATED SIDE GRIPPERS Filed April 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 31, 1956 J. MULLER-STROBEL 2,732,741

CLOSURE REMOVER WITH PLUNGER ACTUATED SIDE GRIPPERS Filed April 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Unit States Patent (ILQSURE REMOVER WITH PLUNGER AQTUATED SIDE GRIPPERS Josef Miiller-Strobel, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to The West Company, Inc., Phoenixville, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 9, 1954, Serial No. 422,207 7 Claims. Cl. 81--3.41)

the top of the container and serves to hold the elastic sealing member in place. Closure assemblies of this type are commonly employed in connection with pharmaceutical bottles. The metal cap'is crimped inwardly at its lower portion below the head of the bottle to hold the closure assembly on the bottle. The purpose of thus securing the closure assembly is to prevent removal thereof, thereby to insure against contamination of the bottle contents. The contents are removed by means of a hypodermic needle or the like, and for this purpose the top of the metal cap is provided with a tear-off tab or simply an opening for access to a portion of the sealing rneniber, which is formed of rubber or like material that can be pierced by the needle. 7 I

It is desirable to be able to re-use containers or bottles which have been equipped with closure assemblies of the type above-mentioned, as theredse of the bottles-effects economy and the bottles can be easily cleaned andsterilized for re-use. However, the permanency of the closure mounting on the bottle :makes it difficult to remove the closure assembly preparatory to .re-use of the :bottle.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device which enables easy and rapid removal of the closure assembly from a container or bottle. V i

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for this purpose which is simple in construction and which may be manufactured at low cost.

The device provided .by this invention comprises a plurality of pivoted gripping members constructed and arranged to embracetbe closure assembly above the top of the bottle and serving both to grip the closure assembly and to lessen the hold of the metal cap on the bottle, means for actuating said members to efieet 'th'e gripping and cap-loosening actions, and means for exerting pressure on the top portion of the closure-assembly while it is gripped by said members, thereby to effectively push the bottle so as to completely release the hold of the metal cap on the bottle. Preferably, the gripping members are provided with stop or limit means thereon to engage the top of the cap and-to locate the gripping portions inproper position for the gripping action. I H

The invention may be fully understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which i Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment, taken vertically centrally of the device, showing the disposition of the parts at the timeof insertion 'o'f'th'e top of a Closureequipped bottle within the gripping members;

Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view 'of the lower part of the device, showing the disposition of the parts after the closure assembly has been gripped but prior to exertion of pressure thereon;

2,732,741 Patented Jan. 31, 1956 ice Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the parts after depression of the central portion of the closure assembly;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the gripping members;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side view of a further embodiment in the form of a manually-operable device;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of any one of the gripping members; 7

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the operating head;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view showing the parts as initially positioned upon a bottle cap;

Fig. 11 is a view like Fig. 10 showing the parts in cap releasing position; 7 1

Fig. 12 is a View like Fig. 11, showing the parts with "the metal cap removed; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the removed metal cap.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5, the device there shown is adapted for ready assembly onto a conventional press cylinder 10 having a vertically movable member 11 which may be actuated in any suitable manner by means not shown. A casing 12 is threadedly secured to cylinder 10 at 13 and accommodates a plunger 14 and an associated spring 15. The plunger 14 has a threaded extension 16 to receive a nut 17. The helical spring 15 is compressed within the casing 12 and urges the plunger 14 upwardly to the position shown. The actuating member 11 engages the upper end of the movable plunger assembly and moves the same downwardly against the action of spring 15.

Threadedly secured to the casing 12 at 18 is a lower casing or shell 19 which is open at its lower end and which has an internal annular flange 2i) shaped to provide an annular shoulder 21. A plurality 'of gripping mem 'bers 22 are provided within the lower casing 19 and are shaped to seat on the shoulder 21 which provides pivotal support for these members intermediate their ends. At least two, and preferably at least three, gripping members are provided. In the illustrated embodiment there are four such members as may be seen in Fig. 4. The gripping members are urged to their spread position by spring means engaging said members above their pivot points. In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, the gripping members are urged to their spread position by means of a garter spring 23 which seats in a groove or recess Zof each gripping member and completely surrounds the upperportions of the gripping members.

With the gripping members in their spread position, a container 25, equipped with a closure assembly comprising the elastic seal member 25 and the outer cap 27, may be inserted within the gripping members as shown in Fig. 1. Preferably, each of the gripping members 22 has an inwardly extending shelf or flange 28 which is engaged by the top of the container cap 27. Each of the gripping members 22 has a gripping projection 29 which is adapted to engage the side of the cap. Preferably each gripping projection 29 has a straight gripping edge (see Fig. 5) as this effects firm gripping action with minimum force. The purpose of the flange 28 on each of the gripping members is to insure gripping of the cap at a certain point below the top thereof, thus insuring that the cap will be gripped at a point between the top of the container and the top of the cap where the elastic sealing member 26 is located.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1' to 5, the gripping motion of members 22 is effected by means of an upwardly divergent camming surface 30 on the plunger 14, whi'ch surface engages the inner pppe'r edge '31 of each gripping member. Immediately below the surface members as shown in Fig.1. Downward movement of the plunger 14 from the position of Fig. 1 causes outward camming of the upper portions of the gripping members 22 by the surface 30, thus causing the lower gripping portions of members 22 to move'inwardly. When the surface 33 of the plunger 14 engages the gripping members, the latter are held in their gripping position.

At the lower end of the vertically movable plunger 14 there is provided a pressure exerting portion 34 which is adapted to be projected into and through the opening of cap 27 to engage and depress the central portion of the elastic sealing member 26 after the closure assembly has been gripped by the gripping members 22.

Fig. 2 showsthe device after downward movement of the plunger 14 sufliciently to efiect gripping of the closure assembly by the gripping members 22 but before engageavsanr stroke of the plunger 40. The plunger 40 is guided by a sleeve 50 which extends from the closure 41, and a helical spring 51 encircles a reduced portion of the plunger and is compressed between the end of the sleeve and the plunger to retract the latter after its working stroke.

For mounting and controllingthe cap removing mechanism, the bottom of the head 42 is formed as an internal annularv flange 52 having an outwardly flaring face bounding an opening through which the operating parts extend for positioning upon a bottle cap. These operating parts comprise pressure gripping jaws 53 and the inner end of the plunger 40. Preferably, four arcuate segments form the jaws, each having an external flange 54, providing an upper shoulder 55 as a seat for the free end of a leaf spring 56, and a lower shoulder 57 which is sup ported by the flange 52 to rock about the sharp annular edge 58, provided by the outwardly flared flange face,

ment of the pressure-exerting portion 34 with the elastic member 26. The gripping action serves not only to hold the closure assembly for the depressing action, but also lessens the hold of the metal cap on the bottle by drawing the lower part of the cap upwardly and thus drawing the crimp of the cap at least partially from under the head of the bottle. Continued downward movement of the plunger 14 from the position of Fig. 2 causes the pressureexerting portion 34 to engage and depress the central portion of the elastic member 26, as shown in Fig. 3. As the material, e. g. rubber, of member 26 cannot be compressed but flows under the influence of pressure, the downward pressure exerted by portion 34 causes downward displacement of the central portion of member 26. As a result thereof, downward pressure is applied to the top of the bottle 25 at the mouth thereof, thus pushing the bottle downward as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 so as to effectively remove the closure assembly from the bottle. After separation of the bottle and the closure assembly, the actuating member 11 is raised and the plunger 14 moves upward under the force of its spring 15. 'The spring 23 moves the gripping members 22 to their spread position, and the closure assembly is released.

as a fulcrum. Each spring 56 extends upwardly in the head 42 where its upper end is fixed in place by a rivet 60,'or the like, to bias the spring in the direction to hold the jaws 53 in retracted position.

At the lower end of the plunger'40 there is a cylindrical portion 61 which serves primarily as a pressure-exerting means as hereinafter described. In the spread apart position of'the jaws 53, the upper ends thereof contact the cylinder 61 to be in the downward path of movement of a truncated cam 62, formed as a part of the plunger, which diverges upwardly from the cylinder 61 to a wide diameter portion 63. The diameter of this portion is such as to hold the jaws in cap gripping position substantially parallel to the axis of the plunger.

The lower part of each jaw has an inwardly disposed olfset 64, an adjacent groove'65, and an arcuate rib 66 of substantially V-shaped section.

a members 22a are urged to their spread position by means of springs 23a seated in recesses in said members and the associated casing 19a. Also this embodiment the gripping movement of the members 22a is effected by means of a curved cam surface 36 on each member which surface is engaged by a shoulder 37 on the plunger 14a. Aside from these modifications, the device is similar to that shown in the other figures and operates in the same manner.

In the above-described embodiments, the closure assembly is gripped well down from the top thereof and the elastic member is distorted while it is firmly held. As shown in Fig. 3,the entire closure assembly is separated from the bottle. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 7 to 12 and now to be described, only the metal cap is separated from the bottle, after which the elastic to a fixed part and pivoted to the plunger 40 on a pin 46. The fixed part, in the present instance, is a hook lug 47 projecting upwardly from the head toseat over the fulcrum 45. The lever handle 44 extends laterally in the plane of the handle 43 for easy hand grasping to actuate the plunger 40. A stop 48' is fixed to one of the handles in the path of the other to limit the working This rib 66 is the gripping element of each jaw and is endwise shorter than the groove 65 to provide clearances 67 which serve to compensate for the distorted metal of the cap under the squeezing action of the jaws. The length of the jaw members is such that when the ofiset 64 seats upon a bottle cap, the gripping rib 66 has a position between the top of the bottle 68 and the top of the cap 70, in which latter the elastic seal 71 is located.

In operation the cap removing'unit is superposed upon a capped bottle, as shown in Fig. 10, with the gripping ing portions of the elastic seal, as shown in Fig. 11.

ribs 66 in surrounding relation to the cap and so held by the seating of the oifsets 64 upon the top of the cap. The user grasps the handles 43 and 44 and draws them together to move the plunger 40 downward. During this movement the truncated cam 62 spreads the upper ends of 'the jaws 53 against the pressure of the flat springs to pivot the jaws about the fulcrum edge 58 and cause the gripping rib 66 to forceably push a circumferential area of the side radially inward while simultaneously dlSPlZX.

s a result the hold of the metal cap on the bottle is lessened by drawing the lower part of the cap upward as previously described. It should be noted that in this instance the I closure assembly is gripped near the top, and as the plunger continues to move downward the pressure-exerting portion 61 engages and depresses the top of the metal cap, distorting the metal cap as shown in Fig. 12. It will be noted that the-upper peripheral portion of the cap is squeezed and held by the gripping ribs 66 and the lowermost peripheral portion of the plunger, and at the same time the plunger exerts downward force on the sealin'g member 71and the bottle 68, efiectively pushing them away from the metal cap. Upon release. of manual force a on handle 44, the plunger is moved upward by spring 51 and the metal cap is released.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, the invention is not limited thereto, but contemplates such further embodiments and modifications'as may occur to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. 'In'a device for removing from a container a closure assembly constituted by an elastic sealing member and a cap which fits over the top of the container and is crimped inwardly to secure it to the container, a casing having an opening and an internal 'flange, a plurality of gripping members within said opening each having a shoulder intermediate its ends engaging said flange, whereby said members are pivotally supported by said casing to receive the upper part of the closure assembly, each of said members having means thereon below the pivot point to grip and exert inward pressure on the side of the closure assembly above the top of the container, thereby to lessen the hold of the cap on the container, spring means within said casing engaging said members above their pivot points to spread the lower portions of said members outwardly for insertion therebe'tweeh of the upper part of the closure assembly, a plunger movable between said members and engaging the upper portions thereof to actuate said members, and a pressure-exerting portion on said plunger engageable with the top of the closure assembly after the latter has been gripped by said members to exert pressure on the top of the closure assembly and to push the container free of the grip of the cap.

2. A hand-operable device for removing from a container a closure assembly constituted by an elastic sealing member and a cap which fits over the top of the container and is crimped inwardly to secure it to the container, comprising a casing having an opening, a plurality of gripping members within said opening pivotally supported by said casing intermediate their ends to receive the upper part of the closure assembly, each of said members having means thereon below the pivot point to grip andexert inward pressure on the side of the closure assembly above the top of the container, thereby to lessen the hold of the cap on the container, spring means within said casing engaging said members above their pivot points to spread the lower portions of said members outwardly for insertion therebetween of the upper part of the closure assembly, a vertically-movable plunger movable between said members to actuate the same, said plunger extending exteriorly of said casing, spring means within said casing urging said plunger to raised position, a fixed handle extending from said casing, a movable handle pivotally mounted on said casing and pivotally connected to said plunger, whereby the plunger may be moved downwardly to actuate said members, and a pressure-exerting portion on said plunger engageable with the top of the closure assembly after the latter has been gripped by said members to exert pressure on the top of the closure assembly and to push the container free of the grip of the cap.

3. A hand-operable device for removing from a container a closure assembly constituted by an elastic sealing member and a cap which fits over the top of the container and is crimped inwardly to secure it to the container, comprising a casing having an opening, a plurality of gripping members within said opening pivotally supported by said casing intermediate their ends to receive the upper part of the closure assembly, each of said members having means thereon below the pivot point to grip and exert inward pressure on the side of the closure assembly above the top of the container, thereby to lessen the hold of the cap on the container, spring means within said casing engaging said members above their pivot points to spread the lower portions of said members outwardly for insertion therebetween of the upper part of the closure assembly, a shoulder on each of said members engageable with the top of the closure assembly to locate the gripping means in relation to the closure assembly, a vertically-movable plunger movable between said members to actuate the same, said plunger extending exteriorly of said casing, spring means within said casing urging said plunger to raised position, a fixed handle extending from said casing, a movable handle pivotally mounted on said casing and pivotally connected to said plunger, whereby the plunger may be moved downwardly to actuate said members, and a pressure-exerting portion on said plunger engageable with the top 'of the closure assembly after the latter has been gripped by said members to exert pressure on the top or the closure assembly and to push the container free of the grip of the cap.

4. A hand-operable device for removing from a container a closure assembly constituted by an elastic sealing member and a cap which fits over the top of the container 'and is crimped inwardly to secure it to the container, comprising a casing having an opening defined by a tapered flange, a plurality of gripping members each having a shoulder intermediate its ends engaging said flange so that the latter serves as a fulcrum for said members, said members being adapted to receive the upper part of the closure assembly, each of said members having means thereon below the fulcrum to grip and exert inward pressure on the side of the closure assembly above the top of the container, thereby to lessen the hold of the cap on the container, spring means within said casing engaging said members above their fulcrum points to spread the lower portions of said members outwardly for insertion therebetween of the upper part of the closure assembly, a vertically-movable plunger movable between said members to actuate the same, said plunger extending exteriorly of said casing, spring means within said casing urging said plunger to raised position, a fixed handle extending from said casing, a movable handle pivotally mounted on said casing and pivotally connected to said plunger, whereby the plunger may be moved downwardly to actuate said members, and a pressure-exerting portion on said plunger engageable with the top of the closure assembly after the latter has been gripped by said members to exert pressure on the top of the closure assembly and to push the container free of the grip of the cap.

5. In a device for removing from a container a closure assembly of the type comprising an elastic sealing member and a cap which fits over the top of the container and is crimped inwardly to secure it to the container, a casing having an opening, a plurality of circularly-arranged gripping members within said opening pivotally supported by said casing intermediate their ends to receive the upper part of the closure assembly, each of said members having means thereon below the pivot point to grip and exert inward pressure on the side of the closure assembly above I the top of the container, thereby to lessen the hold of the cap on the container, a plurality of leaf springs secured within said casing and engaging said members above their pivot points to spread the lower portions of said members outwardly for insertion within said members of the top of the container with the closure assembly thereon, a vertically-movable plunger movable between said members and engaging the upper portions thereof to actuate said members, and a pressure-exerting portion on said plunger engageable with the top of the closure assembly after the latter has been gripped by said members to exert pressure on the top of the closure assembly and to push the container free of the grip of the cap.

6. in a device for removing from a container a closure assembly of the type comprising an elastic sealing member and a cap which fits over the top of the container and is crimped inwardly to secure it to the container, a casing having an opening defined by a tapered flange, a plurality of gripping members each having a shoulder intermediate its ends engaging said flange so that the latter serves as a fulcrum for said members, said members being adapted to receive the upper part of the closure assembly, each of said members having means thereon below the fulcrum point to grip and exert inward pressure on the side of the closure assembly above the top of the container, thereby to lessen the hold of the cap on the coutainer, a plurality of leaf springs secured within said casing and engaging said members above their fulcrum points to spread the lower portions of said members outwardly for insertion within said members of the top of the container with the closure assembly thereon, a verticallymovable plunger movable between said members and engaging the upper portions thereof to actuate said members, and a pressure-exerting portion on said plunger engageable with the top of the closure assembly after the latter has been gripped by said members to exert pressure on the top of the closure assembly and to push the container free of the grip of the cap. 7

7. In a device for removing from a container a closure assembly of the type comprising an elastic sealing member and a cap which fits over the top of the container and is crimped inwardly to secure it to the container, a vertical receptacle into which the top of the container with the closure assembly thereon may be inserted, a plurality of circularly-arranged gripping members pivotally supported intermediate their ends on the inside of the receptacle, each of said members having means thereon below the pivot point to grip and exert inward pressure on the side of the closure assembly above the top of the container, thus lessening the hold of the cap on the container, spring means engaging said members above their pivot points to 8 spread the lower portions of said members outwardly for insertion within said members of the top of the container with the closure assembly thereon, a vertically-movable plunger movable between said members, cooperative means on said members and said plunger to actuate said members, and a pressure-exerting portion on said plunger engageable with the top of the closure assembly after the latter has been gripped by saidmembers, thereby to exert force on the top of the container and push the container free of the grip of the cap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

